Members of the UArizona History Department developed teaching content for the popular strategy game. Studying the content can earn current and prospective UArizona students a university loan.
A unique partnership between the University of Arizona, Microsoft’s World’s Edge Studio and Relic Entertainment will enable current and future UArizona students to “make history theirs” while getting credit for their college degrees.
From the beginning of 2022, Age of Empires IV Players will be able to interact with specific educational content ageofempires.com; this content that the historical storytelling in the Age of Empires IV Campaign, was developed by two members of the University of Arizona Historical Institute – Associate Professor of Medieval History Paul Milliman and department head Alison Futrell, Associate Professor of Roman History. Based on the University of Arizona admission status, engaging with this particular content could enable players to earn academic credit at the university.
“The idea was really exciting to put together the lessons in a different framework and with a publicly effective opportunity to really deal dynamically with this material. And of course, getting involved in a big name like Microsoft has given it credibility and energy, ”said Futrell. “One of my research areas is actually the way in which the ancient past has recently been taken up in various media, especially in performances and films, but also in novels and advertising and the like.”
Age of Empires IV is the first brand new entry into the franchise since 2005 for the popular games franchise, which was first released in 1997. The latest version allows players to enjoy 4 different campaigns with 35 missions spanning over 500 years of history from the Dark Age to the Renaissance. Outside of the campaign, the game features 8 different civilizations with strategic nuances guided by the story and all playable in online multiplayer matches or in battles against the game’s AI.
In Early 2022, access to the “University of Arizona Advanced Experience” is highlighted in the game’s Community tab and directs players to ageofempires.com There you will find an onboarding portal with the steps required to receive college credits as well as accompanying modules called “Illuminated Histories” written by Futrell and Milliman. This out-of-game content is designed to accompany the campaign mode, which offers individual players four story-based campaigns based on key moments from the Middle Ages: the Norman conquest of England, the Hundred Years War between England and France, the expansion of the Mongol Empire and Moscow’s path to rise as a new superpower.
Milliman and Futrell also feature in short introductory videos that help bring all of the campaign content together. After players have completed all of the key story points in the game’s four campaigns, they can rate what they have learned from the UArizona content online. If they pass this exam, they will be given a credit hour that will be used until admission to UArizona. College credits are only earned upon successful admission to UArizona; however, the additional content on ageofempires.com is available to all free of charge. As with many college courses, there are required materials. Prospective students must have access to the Age of Empires IV on Steam, Microsoft Store, or with subscriptions to Xbox Game Pass for PC or Ultimate; All players must be signed in to the game with an Xbox Live account (available for free). The idea for a partnership came up more than two years ago when UArizonas Kara Aquilano Forney, Executive Director of Corporate Initiatives and Business Development for Arizona Online, connected with Will McCahill, Business Lead at Microsoft’s World’s Edge game studio.
“Will and I started discussing a collaboration that would allow the Age of Empires Platform to expand learning opportunities and improve the user experience for gamers, ”said Forney. “I reached out to the history department and call it coincidence or fate, but when I found out we had two professors who are gamers and one of them was a medievalist, the deal was sealed. We started discussions before COVID hit, which then set us back a year. But now we’re finally at a point where we can announce the partnership, and I couldn’t be more enthusiastic. ”
“The Age of Empires Franchise has built a community of history buffs since its inception. With our latest edition, Age of Empires IV, The World’s Edge and Relic teams have decided to double what we call ‘Humanized History’ by allowing players to experience real historical events through gameplay, “said McCahill. “A university partnership wasn’t our initial goal, but when I first played the campaign it sparked a 20-minute conversation about the Normans with our narrative designer. I realized we needed to get this into the hands of the students, and Kara and the U of A history team were crucial partners in bringing that vision to life. I’m excited and think that students will be pleasantly surprised with this unique approach to learning history. ”
Faculty Members Milliman and Futrell hope that the first credit earned by playing the game will also be a first step for many players to earn a degree in Arizona History.
“I’m putting together a course specifically for people who come to university through gaming and are not currently students. It will help them go from player to student, ”said Millman. “For students who are already here, I’ll be teaching a different version of this, but this will introduce online students to historical research and study. There will be no textbooks or tests. It will be project driven and based on their experiences playing the game with our additional content. ”
More information, including steps to take to participate, will be shared on the Age of Empires Website when UArizona content is available next year.
